Message from the Dean
October 2020
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
As we work to sharpen the College’s identity, offer programs that meet the needs of
students and the world and secure support for the College, I continue to be amazed
by how many wonderful things all of you are doing. We will thrive in part by raising
awareness about the breadth and depth of our activities and contributions. And so,
in my monthly messages this fall, I am highlighting different areas of the College
of Arts & Sciences.
This month’s focus is the natural and computational sciences. This area of the College
encompasses Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematical and Statistical
Sciences and Physics. Courses in these areas tend to be heavily enrolled, as we not
only serve our own undergraduate and graduate students but offer essential coursework
for many other popular programs across campus, including Engineering and Health Sciences.
Thanks in large part to our strengths in the natural and computational sciences, faculty
in the Klingler College of Arts & Sciences garner about one-third of the total extramural
funding across the university. The 70 grants to College faculty in 2019-20 totaled
$11.7 million, an increase of over 50% from the previous year.
Faculty in Biological Sciences, who include winners of university-wide research and teaching awards, study areas
such as climate change, biodiversity, antibiotic resistance, genetic mechanisms of
disease and the function of molecular machines. This breadth in research interests
is reflected in distinct undergraduate majors including Biological Sciences, Physiological
Sciences, Environmental Studies and Bioinformatics. Upper-division laboratory courses
often include self-designed or novel experiments to help students think like scientists.
Chemistry, like Biological Sciences, emphasizes the importance of involving students in research.
The two departments together offer an undergraduate major in Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology. Graduate degrees offer a variety of specializations. Faculty in the department
cross organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. Faculty research includes such areas
as solar energy, the synthesis of novel pharmaceuticals and natural products, nanomaterials
and unstable molecules that are at work in many real-world chemical processes. A graduate
student in chemistry recently won a prestigious Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MoISSI) fellowship. An undergraduate has produced a chemistry comic book reported on by National Public Radio.
Computer Science, the newest department in Arts & Sciences, has become known for expertise in the
ethics of data and algorithms. A faculty member was Principal Investigator on one
of this year’s winning projects in the President’s Challenge for COVID-19 Response. Marquette’s Center for Cybersecurity Awareness and Cyber Defense hosted a virtual conference on October 9. This summer the department hosted an REU, or Research Experience for
Undergraduates, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Home to a nationally
ranked online Master’s in Computing, the department also hosts a PhD program, a data
science certificate and a range of undergraduate programs. The department has also
led efforts to enhance K-12 computer science teaching across Wisconsin. Computer Science
serves as a hub for the study of data science across campus, which in fact crosses
colleges and departments.
Mathematical and Statistical Sciences plays a crucial role in data science across campus. A distinctive feature is the
department’s blending of mathematics and statistics with computational sciences. This
computational and data-intensive focus means that the department engages in applied
and interdisciplinary teaching and research along with foundational areas like mathematics
education. Reflecting this breadth, faculty research focuses on areas such as medical
imaging (the department’s largest research group), the mathematics of machine learning,
hazard prediction, algorithms for big data analysis and genetic analysis. Along with
its graduate programs, the department offers a range of undergraduate degrees and
two accelerated degree programs.
The department of Physics is home to faculty who specialize in experimental physics (observation and analysis)
as well as theoretical physics (the development and testing of mathematical models).
Physics lies at the heart of many technological innovations from the computer to the
cell phone and also opens on to philosophical and theological inquiry. The department
recently revised its curriculum and focuses on excellence in education, research and
transferable skills. Physics has one of the highest rates at Marquette of undergraduates
who go on to graduate school. Faculty participate in some of the largest collaborative
projects in the world, including the international IceCube Collaboration at the South
Pole. Undergraduates take part in research opportunities and student organizations
whether majoring in Physics, Biophysics or Applied Physics. A recent essay featured the creative ways in which Physics professors are enabling students to do
lab work in the remote learning environment.
On October 6, the college co-hosted a screening of the film “Picture a Scientist” followed by a panel discussion that featured colleagues from Biological Sciences
and Chemistry. The sciences benefit from a national organization, the American Association
for the Advancement of Science, that has been a leader in working to end systemic racism. This organization also hosted an online conference this month on Science, Technology and Human Rights in which A&S faculty and staff
were invited to participate thanks to generous funding from a donor. These efforts
reflect Marquette’s values and our Catholic, Jesuit mission.
As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns or suggestions. I appreciate hearing from you and exploring
ways we can all work together for the common good.
Sincerely,
Dr. Heidi Bostic Dean, Klingler College of Arts and Sciences
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